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Air Force Reserve rescuers save lives at home, abroad

  • Published
  • By James D'Angina
  • Air Force Reserve Command Directorate of History
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  In early March, nearly 70 combat search and rescue reservists from Patrick AFB, Fla., deployed to Afghanistan where they continue to risk their lives to save others.

The deployment is part of a continuing tradition in Air Force Reserve Command that began more than 50 years ago. Over the past half century air rescue operations reservists have picked up stranded mountain climbers, plucked boaters out of choppy waters and pulled downed Airmen out of hostile places.

The 301st Air Rescue Squadron received credit for the first Air Force Reserve air rescue in January 1957. During that mission, the squadron saved three Airmen off the coast of Cuba after two Air Force B-47 Stratojets collided.

After North Korea seized the USS Pueblo in January 1968, the Reserve's 305th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron was mobilized to backfill Air Force rescue requirements around the world as the Vietnam War intensified. In April 1969, the 305th ARRS became involved in a search-and-rescue effort for 31 crew members of a U.S. Navy EC-121 that was shot down by the North Koreans. From January 1968 to June 1969, the unit recorded 6,247 flying hours during its mobilization.

In 1971, the Air Force Reserve began exchanging some of its fixed-wing aircraft for helicopters. This move helped save more lives because the helicopters were able to hover and land in confined spaces. In the years before the implementation of the Total Force Policy, the Air Force Reserve went to great lengths to obtain aircraft. The first Reserve helicopters were refurbished Navy H-34s reclaimed from the boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz. The HH-34J Choctaw, with a range of 247 miles, used a single Wright R-1820 radial engine similar to those found on B-17 Flying Fortresses during World War II.

Even with obsolete aircraft, the Air Force Reserve rescue crews made national news in 1972. The 301st ARRS came to the aid of Flight 401, an Eastern Airlines L-1011 that crashed on approach to Miami International Airport in the Florida Everglades. Helicopters from the 301st ARRS launched from Homestead AFB, Fla. The squadron inserted an emergency medical team at the crash site to treat survivors immediately.

In 1974, Reserve rescue squadrons started receiving modern turbine-engined helicopters, namely the Bell HH-1H Iroquois with a range 318 miles and the Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant with a range 625 miles. The Jolly Green Giant was the first Air Force helicopter capable of midair refueling and designed with a boat hull incorporated into the fuselage for water landings. However, the HH-3E had less power and armament compared to the active-duty HH-53C Super Jolly. On a positive note, the Air Force stopped sending the Air Force Reserve to the boneyard to resurrect obsolete helicopters.

Mount Saint Helens blew its top on May 18, 1980. The volcano had lain dormant for 125 years when it erupted with the explosive power equivalent to 40 hydrogen bombs.

The U.S. Forest Service contacted the 304th ARRS, based 60 miles south of the volcano, to warn of seismic activity and to ask for help. Within minutes, helicopters were en route. During the first day, the squadron saved 51 people.

The 304th ARRS used all 10 UH/HH-1N aircraft it had on hand. Flying in pairs, the crews flew 131 hours during the rescue effort. In all, the squadron saved 61 people, including four rescue workers who had became trapped during a second eruption.

In 1992 the Air Force Reserve received the much improved HH-60G Pave Hawk, a giant leap in technology for the Air Force Reserve's rescue squadrons. The HH-60G had true adverse weather and low-level night operations capability and featured a Doppler navigation systems, satellite communications, and color weather radar.

Three months after converting to the HH-60G, the 301st Rescue Squadron used these helicopters to save 137 lives during Hurricane Andrew. Andrew destroyed more than 63,000 homes, left 300,000 people homeless and devastated Homestead AFB.

Seven years later, the 920th Rescue Wing saved 217 lives in the wake of Hurricane Floyd, which devastated North Carolina.

When Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off, the 301st and 39th Rescue Squadrons from Air Force Reserve Command's 920th Rescue Wing were already in place to support the no-fly zone over Iraq. On March 29, 2003, they relocated to Tallil Air Base, Iraq. Reserve pilots from the 301st RQS and pararescue jumpers from the 304th RQS performed combat search-and-rescue missions during the initial combat phase and throughout their tour.

"We've been at the tip of the spear on missions involving the extractions of two groups of Marines, an Air Force A-10 (Thunderbolt II) pilot and two U.S. Army special operations Soldiers," said Col. Timothy Tarchick, who commanded the 920th RQW at the time.

In one of its last missions in the region, the 920th RQW was the first to respond when the United Nations facility in Baghdad was bombed. In all, wing reservists received credit for 22 saves during their 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom rotation.

In 2005, the 920th RQW deployed reservists to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The reservists, along with their weapon systems, became part of the 59th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron based out of Kandahar. They supported CSAR missions for four months in remote mountainous terrain.

On June 28, 2005, a four-man Navy SEAL team came under heavy attack and called for assistance. A U.S. Army MH-47 Chinook from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) attempted to insert reinforcements but was shot down, killing all 16 on board.

Crews from the 920th RQW rescued one of the Navy SEALs with the help of local Afghanis. Wing pilots and pararescuemen then rose to the task of performing a personnel recovery effort of the SEAL team under arduous conditions off the side of a mountain.

"It was one of my proudest moments to take my formation into enemy held territory and bring one of those SEALs home alive," said Lt. Col. Jeffery Macrander. During their deployment, the reservists flew 180 search-and-rescue sorties.

Within a month of returning from Afghanistan, the 920th RQW began rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the largest Air Force Reserve civilian rescue effort to date. Equipped with two HC-130 Hercules and five HH-60G Pave Hawks, the reservists joined other disaster response teams from the Air National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard. Trained and equipped with night vision goggles and forward looking infrared that allowed them to work at night, the 920th RQW saved 1,044 lives.

In early 2007, Air Force Reserve rescue crews continued to support the Global War on Terrorism and began their third rotation in Southwest Asia. In February, 920th RQW crews responded to an Army MH-47 crash. The aircraft, assigned to the 160th SOAR, suddenly loss power and control at an altitude of 300 feet. The ensuing crash killed eight on board, including Air Force pararescuman Tech. Sgt. Scott E. Duffman. The Air Force Reserve crews secured the site and saved 14 of the 22 service members.

Air Force Reserve rescue crews have responded throughout the world for more than 50 years, from saving lost climbers on Mount Hood, Ore., to conducting combat search-and-rescue missions in Afghanistan. These Air Force Reserve pilots, combat rescue officers, pararescuemen, flight engineers, maintainers, and support people continue to live by their motto "That Others May Live." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)